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23 Jul 2019 07:28
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23 July 2019
US SOLAR FUND PLC (USF, the "Company")
FIRST BINDING ACQUISITION AGREEMENT
USF TO ACQUIRE 128 MWDC SOLAR PROJECT IN UTAH WITH 25-YEAR PPA WITH S&P A-RATED OFFTAKER
US Solar Fund plc (LON: USF (USD)/USFP (GBP)), a newly established investment company focused on investing in solar power assets primarily in the United States (US), is pleased to announce it has executed an acquisition agreement for the Milford Solar Project, a 128MWDC utility-scale solar power project located in Utah, in the western US (the Project). The agreement follows USF's announcement of exclusivity on the Project on 14 June 2019.
The Project has executed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA), with an investment-grade (S&P rating: A) offtaker, beginning in the second half of 2020. The PPA sets a fixed price for 100% of the electricity produced by the Project for the next 25 years.
USF's acquisition is expected to be completed later in 2019, simultaneous with the financial close of debt and tax equity financing, based on term sheets already executed with two commercial banks and a leading tax equity provider, with construction commencing immediately after that. The Project will be constructed on a fixed-time and fixed-cost basis by a leading engineering procurement and construction contractor with a 150-year track record in the US, using First Solar Inc.'s (First Solar, NASDAQ: FSLR) high-performance Series 6 solar panels. First Solar Energy Services is expected to provide operations and maintenance services under a separate long-term contract.
The Project is expected to be funded with USF's cash equity contribution of approximately US$30m, US$50m in non-recourse bank debt finance, and the balance from tax equity. The expected returns from the Project are in line with those anticipated in the Company's investment objective, as set out in its prospectus dated 26 February 2019.
USF will acquire the Project from Longroad Energy Partners, LLC. (Longroad). The Longroad team has a track record of developing and financing more 5GW of utility-scale renewable energy projects since 2004, including over 1GW in the state of Utah.
USF continues to due diligence opportunities from its pipeline and expects to announce further investments in due course.
Gillian Nott, Chairman of USF, said:
"We are delighted to have signed this acquisition agreement for the first of our pipeline investments within just over three months of our IPO. The Milford Solar Project, with its 25-year contracted cashflows and A-rated offtaker, provides a strong, long-term foundation for USF's portfolio. The Company has an extensive pipeline of high-quality assets in which we expect to continue deploying our IPO proceeds in the coming months."
Liam Thomas, Chief Investment Officer of USF's investment manager New Energy Solar Manager, said:
"Since USF's IPO in April we have been focused on converting pipeline opportunities into acquisitions for the Company. The highly contracted nature of the Milford project makes it an ideal first acquisition, and we are excited to partner with such an experienced developer in Longroad. We look forward to announcing further acquisitions in due course."
Further information on the Company can be found on its website at http://www.ussolarfund.co.uk.
For further information, please contact:
US Solar Fund Whitney Voûte
| +1 718 230 4329 |
Cenkos Securities plc Alex Collins Sapna Shah Tom Scrivens
| +44 20 7397 8900 |
Macquarie Capital (Europe) Limited Stephen Taylor Nick Stamp
| +44 20 3037 2000 |
KL Communications | +44 20 3603 2803 |
Charles Gorman Josie Workman |
About US Solar Fund plc
US Solar Fund plc listed on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange in April 2019, following its successful US$200m IPO. The Company's investment objective is to provide investors with attractive and sustainable dividends with an element of capital growth by investing in a diversified portfolio of solar power assets in North America and other OECD countries in the Americas.
The Company will acquire or construct, own and operate solar power assets that are expected to have an asset life of at least 30 years and generate stable and uncorrelated cashflows by selling electricity to creditworthy offtakers under long-term power purchase agreements (or PPAs).
About the Investment Manager
USF is managed by New Energy Solar Manager (NESM). NESM also manages New Energy Solar, an Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)-listed fund which has committed over US$800m to US and Australian solar plants since late 2015.
NESM is owned by Walsh & Company, the funds management division of Evans Dixon, an ASX-listed company (ASX: ED1) with over A$18 billion of funds under advice and management.